7 TIPS FOR HANGING A GALLERY WALL

It’s almost been a year (yikes!) since moving into my house, and it has taken almost a year for me to commit to artwork for my “comfy” living room. Believe it or not, this room has already undergone a full makeover. When this [massive] couch first arrived I went for a very colorful theme, complete with artwork on the wall, that left me feeling unsatisfied. Something about it just didn’t feel right to me.

Something you should know about me…I have a never-ending obsession with moving things around in my house. I kid you not, I have moved all the furniture around on my own just because I couldn’t wait for my husband to get home from work. That might be my superpower. When I get an idea for the home, it needs to be executed that second. So waiting 8 hours for someone to get home just isn’t an option and I suddenly have superwoman strength to get it done.

Back to this room. A few weeks back I stripped the couch, took out all the accessories, and removed the 3 pictures hanging on the wall. I hated it. I decided that until I was 100% on the colors and “theme” absolutely nothing was going in the room. It worked. I spent hours, and I mean HOURS, on Pinterest looking for inspiration. I then spend some more hours on Etsy contacting people in Morocco for pillows. And then hours and lots of $$$ at the Rosebowl flea market looking for the perfect pieces for this room. All in all, I was happy with the progress.

Then I discovered Minted. A one-stop shop for artwork and framing. Since the wall behind my couch is pretty damn massive I knew I had to go with a gallery wall. Finding a good mixture of art was so easy using Minted’s filters (ie: animals, nature, abstract, etc.), and they offer a framing option, which was all I could ask for! The art arrived quickly and I got to work. Below find my tips of installing a gallery wall, since, you know, this is my 7685th time doing it…

Tips for hanging a gallery wall:

-Decide on a motif. Is it all black and white? Color? Are all the frames going to be the same? Or will you opt for different finishes?

-Print all the artwork in the same finish. I usually go with matte. Not a fan of the glare.

-When picking out art, mix it up. I always like some text, some abstract, some animals, some beautiful people, some architecture, and landscapes. It sounds broad, but trust me, you will have a hard time narrowing down your selections once you check out the prints on Minted.

-Map out your configuration. Once you have the prints framed, lay them out on the floor to see how the configuration will look. Try to keep a good balance of horizontal and vertical so it doesn’t look too symmetrical or “contrived.”

-Use Command velcro strips if your frames are lightweight. So I definitely learned my lesson about using the velcro for heavier frames (it destroys the walls), but if your frames are relatively light, this will make the hanging process SO much easier.

-Always use a level. You can lightly press the frame on the wall, check the level, and adjust accordingly. There’s nothing worse than staring at a crooked frame for the rest of your life…

-Keep a consistent space between the frames. This is the hardest part for me. I’m far too lazy to measure the distance between the frames so I usually just eyeball that part and it can often result in uneven spacing. After lightly pressing the frame onto the wall, step back, observe, and adjust accordingly.